Here is a link to a site that had several listings for Hawaiian restaurants in the lower 48. It seems like there should be more. I have never had the pleasure of authentic Hawaiian food, when I think of a Hawaiian themed restaurant, Don-the- beachcomber with tiki lights come to mind, but I am sure most places are not like that!

Roy's, one of Hawaii's great restaurant mini-chains, is now franchised by the Outback folks and has about 20 outposts on the Mainland. I haven't tried any of these franchised Roy's yet but I have heard good things from others who love Roy's from Hawaii and have tried the franchises.

Roy's have a neat website and have several locations in the USA. Sounds a bit pricey but if they are managed and franchised by Outback, my guess is they are very good. They also have a price fix menu. My experience with Outback is they tend to operate above the scale for a chain and tend to be very consistent. They also franchise or manage a Italian group that tends to be next door. They are also very good. I think they are called Carrabba's.

Out here in CA, we have many. My favorites are The Loft at Lahaina, a mini-chain with my fqvorite one on Sepulveda Bl. in Manhattan Beach. Good BBQ beef, excellent fried chicken and lots of specialties such as chicken long rice and katsu curry. They are a nice, sit down place but still reasonable and with good "plate lunches". It's a favorite place to take friends who want hawaiian but with nice atmosphere. My other favorite is L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, mainly a take out place. They do have several locations and are part of a chain headquartered in Hawaii. I usually go to the one in the Marukai food Court in Costa Mesa. Good plate lunches, very good BBQ Short Ribs and terriyaki chicken. As is typical, lots of food for little money-----plate lunches come with cabbage salad, macaroni salad and rice. Other goodies such as spam musabi are always available.

Ed: What about King's on Sepulveda in Torrance, off Hawthorne Blvd...owned by the family who makes King's Hawaiian Bread (still baked in beautiful downtown Gardena)? I haven't been there in a long time myself.

Elise.....never tried King's----didn't know that much about the restaurant portion of it. I will have to try it some time.

Caje------that's exactly the place I'm referring to. L & L's seems to have a big following. I try to go there often these days. Thanks for the website-----I now found out that they have a place less than 3 miles from me. Yum!

signman, looks like you are making a list! Da Kine is good. My wife is from Hawaii and is a distant relative of the founder of the L&L Drive In. But she doesn't think the place that have landed on the mainlane compare with local places on the islands. I can't tell the difference, I think it's a state of mind.

Da Kine is located on the second floor of a strip mall in Pacific Beach on Mission Blvd. about a block from the ocean. If you like rice, Chicken Katsu, Teriaki Chicken, or Kalua Pork (similar to Mexican Carnitas), you'll enjoy it. It's a take out place with nothing fancy. Perfect for the beach. I just drove by it last week on Labor Day weekend on our way to try out our first Fatburger which is just up the street. We don't make it to the plate lunch places often as we prefer sushi so we end up at local Japanese places. Here are some links to Da Kines http://www.dakines.com/ and L&L http://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/

I like the Loco Moco. She likes the Spam Musube. If they are preapring Lau Lau, try it!

Thanks Sandy. After experiencing the plate lunch in Honolulu several years ago, I have stopped at L&L in Las Vegas several times. I'm fine with the chicken katsu, so I'm sure I will be stopping by Da Kine.

Most of the Asian markets around me in the DC & Baltimore area don't carry them. Dried Ramen doesn't compare and Udon just isn't the same as S&S. I can find cuttlefish and something chinese close to Li Hing Moi in some of the Asian markets and Chinatown in DC and online http://www.alohafriends.com/products6.html but looking for the whole choices close by.

the best li hing mui is from hawaii. if you're really craving li hing seeds then try snackshawaii.com. They have all the basic li hing stuff and have the cheapest online prices I can find. They have li hing powder, mango, red seed, white seed, red seedless, arare, & mac nuts. Not a huge variety but all the basics are there.

Las Vegas is a very popular place for people from Hawaii to vacation and now a lot of people from Hawaii are moving here for work so there are many plate lunch places (include L & L) here. Roy's is here too. We also have fake tourist luaus at casinos (of course!). And many Asian markets.

Sandy, you couldn't be more correct! We haven't been to Roy's but know that it's expensive (though the last time we were in Las Vegas, we made reservations at Roy's but cancelled in favor of another restaurant); we have, however, been to L&L on Oahu (very inexpensive, very good) and absolutely loved it. The Loco Moco, in particular, is a massive meal made with RFers in mind...and the Chicken Katsu still makes me salivate with but a thought. There's an L&L near Amy's house in Chatsworth, CA at 18657 Devonshire St. (in Northridge, technically) that we've driven by a hundred times and said, "We need to go there!" but haven't. We're curious to see if it's as good as the ones in Hawaii, and because of this forum post, we'll add it to our "next time" list for a return trip. Thanks!